#10.10 “Luthor” Review

NOTE: This review has HUGE spoilers in just the second paragraph.  I really mean it. If you’re a spoiler-phobe, read no further until you’ve seen the episode.

I cannot say how much I loved this episode. Or, well, I will hopefully successfully convey in the following review how much I adored it and why. Written by Bryan Q. Miller, this is possibly one of the best episodes of the series, not just the season.

It started out awesomely, with that mysterious object left to Tess by Lionel. Then after finding out she had been hiding Alexander, Clark gets angry with her, finds the mirror box with its obvious Kryptonian markings and gets thrown into a parallel universe where Lionel Luthor is still alive and says ‘we Luthors’ to Clark. Wow. That was quite an attention grabber.

I loved the quote from Marcus Aurelias. It was fitting given that the Lionel Clark knows is dead and he was talking about what a privilege it is to live, to love and to think. And I loved that Lionel said at the end ‘you only live once, son.’ It was a fantastic way to end the tease. What a completely outstanding opening.

As good as that was, things just got better from there. I loved Lionel’s fencing lesson for Clark, so reminiscent of the type of things he used to do in earlier seasons with Lex. I think Bryan has a terrific grasp on that Luthor-like father-son dynamic and he made Clark’s and Lionel’s scenes together all wonders to behold. Like Lex, Clark was ill-equipped to handle the lesson that Lionel was dishing up and the blue kryptonite on the blade Lionel had given him made sure he was physically at a disadvantage as well. That combined with Clark being completely confused about where he was made the scene work on several different levels.

And I think few men, like John Glover, can make a character seem so dangerous when he’s so small. Well, small in comparison to Tom Welling anyway. I have no clear idea of how tall either man is, but as they stood facing each in that library, John looked significantly slimmer and far shorter than Tom. Yet Lionel still seemed a believable threat to Clark. That was terrific. The writing and John’s performance made Lionel’s menace almost palpable.

By the way, I loved that Lionel was beating Clark with a belt. It’s the kind of thing that a harsh disciplinarian father would do: spank a child with a belt, instead of his hand. It’s likely a simple escalation of how Clark Luthor was punished by Lionel as a child, but instead of being a harsh lesson this time his adoptive father’s intent was murder; he beat him with the buckle instead of the strap. It shows how dysfunctional their relationship had been and the implied harsh treatment he had suffered as a child was probably part of the reason why Clark Luthor turned out the way he had.

This episode turned out to be an awesome vehicle to bring Lionel back. I adore John and I am glad that he’s back, even as a completely evil doppelganger from Earth 2. He seemed so at home back on the show even though we last saw him in ‘Descent’ when Lex pushed Lionel out the window.

However, John Glover’s Lionel coming back makes me think that maybe Michael Rosenbaum’s Lex isn’t. So if Lex coming back is less of a possibility, then having Lionel instead is probably a pretty good trade-off. That is especially so since John Glover totally rocked as the Earth 2’s unequivocally evil version of Lionel.

Tom Welling did a glorious job with both sides of his role, both as Clark Kent and Clark Luthor. He was confused yet earnest as Clark Kent with Lionel, then as Clark Luthor he was a complete sociopath, a unrepentant murderer, even though he was so calm, almost elegant. Tom played Clark Luthor as more different than previous non-Clark parts he had played. He was quiet and dangerous, clearly not as manic as Clark is when he’s on Red-K. He was terrific so I’m sorry we didn’t get to see more of Tom playing that part, but I can’t complain too much since everyone had given such strong performances.

Cassidy Freeman was fantastic as both sides of Tess. She is such a complex and an emotional character, yet one who holds her emotions in, and Cassidy beautifully played all the parts of the episode perfectly. I especially loved that scene with Clark Luthor in her office. Even as she tried to cover the fact that she wasn’t the Tess he thought she was, I could almost see Tess’ mind working She and Tom I think have awesome chemistry and they play off each other so well, and that was in full display in that scene. She played Tess as so vulnerable, yet still so strong and adaptable at the same time. Man, that scene was awesome, it was so well written and so well acted and directed…

Even better was the terrific scene with Tom at the end. Tess was so scared and regretful. Cassidy played her as so vulnerable, yet still steely. So calmly warning Clark how dangerous Alexander has become, even being more dangerous than Lex. What a terrific scene for her.

The writing on this episode was so solid, yet I did have a problem with Clark being named ‘Clark’ in an alternate universe. Martha had said way back in the second season that she had named him ‘Clark’ because it was her ‘family name,’ her maiden name.
That explanation was shown in the flashback to Clark’s first day on the Kent Farm in ‘Lineage.’ If you factor that in along with Lionel’s history of naming all of his kids with the first name (or nickname) that starts with an ‘L’, it doesn’t really make any sense.

What reason would Lionel have had to name the Traveler ‘Clark’?

Aside from that, there was almost nothing wrong with the writing in this episode. The stakes were high right from the start and constantly rose for everyone in both universes, the acts all ended on terrific mini-cliffhangers and the pacing was taut and didn’t let up for almost the entire episode. There was great continuity to previous episodes, or previous seasons, and I loved the nice little touches he put in sometimes. Like Tess on Earth 2 telling Clark that she’d been waiting long enough to have had time to have gone for a ride, then back on Earth 1 Clark Luthor telling Tess he loved to make her wait. It was a small detail, but a nice one.

I loved that again the show addressed issues with fathers, bringing in again something that has come up several times this season. However, this time it was from a different viewpoint. This time it was Tess’ father, not Clark’s, the show dealt with. What a screwed up life she would have had if Lionel had raised her. Clark made a valid point: your nature isn’t only due to your parentage, but how you were raised.

Clark is really the best example of nurture being as important as nature. The alternate universe really proved that. Had Lionel raised him free from Jonathan and Martha Kent’s loving parenting, Clark probably would have been just as monstrous as his doppelganger from the Earth 2 had been. It was a nice thing for Clark to have finally come to understand and, better yet, it believably allowed him to forgive Tess for being a Luthor.

I’ll be really looking forward to where this all will be going. With Lionel back, albeit as an evil twin from a mirror universe, it will make everyone deal with Lionel. Having this particular version of Lionel around offers so many story possibilities it makes me sorry that we’re up almost to the winter hiatus. I can’t wait to see what they do next with Lionel.

This was such a terrific episode on so many levels, but it’s based on something that has been a genre TV staple for almost as long as there has been science-fiction or fantasy shows on TV. Episodes of previous Sci-Fi TV shows have tackled the same idea, the original “Star Trek” being possibly the best known with ‘Mirror-Mirror’. So a ‘mirror universe’ clearly isn’t a new thing. Yet, as hackneyed an idea as that it is, Bryan didn’t treat the idea in a trite way at all. The stories of all the characters tied into storylines from the rest of the season and still informed on their characters at the same time. It was brilliant storytelling: taking an old idea and making something that still seemed fresh and relevant.

And I’ve got to say, I didn’t see that ending coming. It was all caps AMAZING. I loved the menace of Lionel coming back and the promise of menace when he said ‘I wouldn’t want to miss how it all turns out.’ I laughed out loud at that line. It was a perfect ending to nearly perfect episode. Bryan Q. Miller did a stellar job.

Executive Producer Kelly Souders makes her directorial debut with this episode and it was a fantastic outing for her. She showed a strong visual sense and the action and pacing were tight and the scenes all beautifully staged. I loved the way she bridged between the two worlds with both Clarks were standing in the same alley on different worlds. The way the camera went up and moved into looking as the warmer version of Earth that is more familiar and then the camera righted itself to show the scene right-side up. I loved that bit. I think the only thing I thought was a little off was the transition between Tess walking out of the door in the mansion into the hallway at Cadmus. It wasn’t a completely smooth transition, even if both shots had been beautifully done. Yet, it was probably the only problem I had for the first-time director. I hope she can direct again for the show before the end, although we are half-way through and I’m not sure there will be time. I hope she can make the time.

I adore it when I see Glen Winter’s name in the credits. He makes every single cast member look fantastic, but Tom as Clark Kent/Clark Luthor looked particularly outstanding. I loved the high contrast ratio on Earth 2. The almost monochromatic photography there were perfect, making that world seem so dark and dreary. I liked the fact that sometimes colors would come in, almost to remind us in the scene just how dark that world really is. The warm amber lights in the mansion, or Tess’ red hair… Maybe it was just enough light and color to make me think that Earth 2 isn’t completely without hope, so that was a nice touch. The setups were dramatic and bold, almost like a graphic novel. I loved the way he shot this episode.

Production Designer James Philpott and his Set Decorator Andrea did a terrific job on redressing the Watchtower and exterior sets for Earth 2. Everything looked less loved, if not downright rundown.

Melanie Williams’ costumes were terrific. I loved the suit that Clark Luthor wore while on Earth 1. It was a different look for Clark, although I’m not sure that looks like something Clark Kent would have had in his closet. Maybe Clark Luthor stole the outfit along with that pinky ring. I also liked the subtle purple touches in the outfit, very Luthor-like.

The make-up and hair for the Earth 2 characters were dissimilar enough to see a difference just looking at them, so Key Makeup Artist Tina Teoli and Key Hairstylist Sarah Koppes both did a terrific job. Again, everyone looked great.

I think the only complaint I have about how people looked was that I didn’t like the color of Oliver’s eyes in the Earth 2 scenes. That looked like it was a visual effect since it was an odd color and his eyes weren’t always blue (they looked darker when he was looking down or when the camera was further away), so it pulled me out of the show a bit.

I adored the music from Louis Febre. It was perfect, it added some delicate notes to scenes there were more tender, yet had harsher low tones for the scenes that needed them. At some points in the Earth 2 scenes there was a low almost constant hum that made the tension almost subliminal until it built into something more substantial. I’m not sure he’d done that before, it was a nice choice and a beautiful score.

I don’t know where this episode goes in the grand scheme over the entire series, but I will have to put this into my top ten, or higher, for the series. It certainly comes in second only to ‘Homecoming’ this season. I can’t wait until Bryan Q. Miller writes for the show again and I hope Kelly Souders can direct again before the series ends. I give this episode 5 Kryptonian mirror boxes out of a possible 5.

Note: The views of Triplet don’t necessarily represent the thoughts and feelings of everyone at KryptonSite. Send her feedback.